WHAT were the people at Inland Revenue thinking when they decided to pay people family tax credit based on the previous year's earnings?

I was told they had overpaid me and that my payments were going to be reduced.

OK, I thought, they'll take a few pounds off me a week. Wrong! They took the lot.

The Inland Revenue had taken all of our working tax credit instead of reducing it. I have two children, my partner is on a low income, that's how we qualified for working tax credit.

There are two months left until Christmas and on top of that, we are struggling to pay bills and a mortgage. And we are not the only ones.

Most people get a pay rise at least once a year, so when it comes to calculating your allowance, they see you've earned more than you should have and decide they've overpaid you for that period.

I thought working tax credit was there for people on a low income, yet they've taken it away. They say they go on the figures for the previous year's earnings. They pay you a year in front calculated on the figures for the year behind. Where is the sense?

I appealed against the decision in September and I'm still waiting for a reply. All I've left to say is Happy Christmas to you all at the Inland Revenue, I'm sure your Christmas will be everything you want it to be. Just spare a thought for those of us who are left to struggle and worry.

An appropriate Christmas story would have to be Scrooge.

Claire Wilcox Hazlitt Close,Llanrumney, Cardiff

No shortage of asses there

I READ with interest the timetable for the Christmas festival in Bridgend.

I noted especially that Joseph and Mary will be arriving at some point on a donkey, a wise move given the town's traffic lights, one-way systems, etc.

Let's face it, if they chose to arrive by car they'd still be en route after the Second Coming.

Having the misfortune of commuting to Bridgend daily, I've witnessed the shambolic deterioration of traffic "management" in the town and surrounding areas.

Finally, I wonder if the person responsible for said blunders is going to volunteer to play the part of the donkey! Mind you, the competition would be tremendous, as there seem to be no shortage of asses within the highways department.

CP Jones Heritage Drive, Barry

Fox story was a hit with me

I WRITE to express my views on reading the letter from Therese Briscombe (Viewpoints, October 26).

I strongly disagree with her: it was a change to see a human interest story on the front page of the Echo, even if it was about a "mangy old fox".

Surely we are inundated with sport already on the TV and in the newspapers?

Also, not everyone has the opportunity to visit places like Australia and see the "real thing".

Please continue printing interesting stories, Echo.

Marilyn Rees Ty Cerrig, Pentwyn, Cardiff

Closing police station is sad

THE closure of Cardiff Central Police Station is so sad.

How many people remember the old lodge alongside our fine law courts and the fine people it used to house?

It will be a sad day when the police station closes next summer.

I remember officers marching from the station in pairs and dispersing at Greyfriars Road with capes slung over their shoulders and torches ablaze.

The city was a safer place in those days, especially at night. We had respect for our policemen, elders and ladies, with our strict upbringing.

G Jones

St Fagans Road, Fairwater, Cardiff

They have run out of excuses

I REFER to the letter (Viewpoints October 26) from Gordon Howells. Pro- hunters must be running out of excuses to justify their cruel pastime, which he supports.

He believes he is doing the fox a favour by putting it through an agonising death, because that would be more humane than the fox dying from illness.

Mr Howells states that those against hunting may change their minds when their pets become the victims of foxes, whereas the hunting fraternity intends to have their dogs destroyed if the hunting ban becomes law.

Reg Wilson

Thornhill Street, Canton, Cardiff

Wonderful reception

I BEGAN my romance with Cardiff in the early 1960s when the company of which I was a director became part of the Hodge Group.

More than two decades later my sister and her family moved to Lisvane where they prospered.

My late brother-in-law, an ardent gardener and crown green bowler, became so involved with the local community that he delayed an essential heart operation in order to represent Wales in the only sport he was still able to enjoy, so proud was he to have received such an honour.

Whenever depression overtakes me I am refreshed in a most unusual manner. Such moods are generally activated through the anonymity that society has adopted. We are no longer names but numbers and expected to press button after button before conversing with a recorded message.

However, whenever I telephone Companies House in Cardiff, the reception is excellent. A young, clear, Welsh female voice flows down the line and with amazing efficiency rapidly confirms the details of any inquiry. I have never experienced such consistent politeness. Now is the time for this unique public service to enjoy the recognition it has so diligently earned.

Peter Haynes

Cauldron Court,Stoke-on-Trent

Straight to the point

I HAVE a slight suspicion that Skippy the fox could have been a planned exercise by the hunting brigade to enhance their evil claims that hunting is good for the fox.

Owen Martin Ridgeway Road, Rumney, Cardiff

I DON'T understand why those of us over the age of 60 need to be taught how to keep warm in winter. I think we learned that many years ago.

When I pass half-naked young women queuing outside nightclubs on cold evenings I feel that it is they who should be told how to stay warm.

Perhaps attention should be turned to them, not us. We manage very well, thank you.

BL Jenkins Roath, Cardiff

I WONDER what Tessa Jowell will put on her Christmas cards this year? Gambling chips, I bet!

Syd Boulton Caerphilly

OH, what a jealous 68-year-old you are, Derek Burns (Viewpoints, October 26). Surely the free passports for the over-75s are to be accepted?

I am only upset that I have renewed mine and I cannot claim a rebate.

What makes you believe that the over-75s who enjoy themselves are in a low national percentage? You must be mixing with the soft food and spoon brigade.

I play golf, swim, ski, ice skate, ride and I am only a young 76 and have not long ago had a quintuplet bypass.

I also have done my bit in the RAF and travelled, although I cannot see what this had to do with the free passports.

Try Saga for your insurance.

Les Vye-Parminter Mackintosh Place, Roath Park, Cardiff

I WENT to see Bradley Walsh at the Riverfront Theatre in Newport. He was very funny.